We met Nguyen Thi Hong Diem in Ho Chi Minh City. She’s a young professional working with a local friendship organization that promotes positive relationships between Vietnam and other countries. We knew that she had lost her father in the Vietnam/American War, but we soon discovered that her loss was even greater. There were two soldiers in Ms. Diem’s family: her father and her mother. Two years after her father was killed, Ms. Diem’s mother was killed, too.

When we talked, Ms. Diem raised an important question. Since she knows many other Vietnamese sons and daughters who lost parents in the war, how could she learn from our experience and start connecting with them? Mike Burkett took the lead answering that question given his work as a board member of another nonprofit organization, Sons and Daughters in Touch. He has since exchanged information with Ms. Diem and hopes to support her further as she develops her ideas.

We recently asked Ms. Diem to share her impressions and thoughts about the 2 Sides Project meeting. We’re providing her responses in English and Vietnamese, as translated by our friend and Vietnam-USA Society collaborator Ms. Yen.

What were some of your impressions when you met with the sons and daughters of the U.S. soldiers killed in Vietnam?I felt a little bit curious, and shy at first. Then, I felt sympathetic. We have the same circumstance and the same pain caused by the war. I got emotional when sharing about the sacrifices of my parents and listening to the children of the U.S. soldiers killed in action in Vietnam as they talked about the deaths of their fathers.

What did you think after the meeting?War caused losses to all sides. I hope that the U.S. sons and daughters I met, through this Vietnam trip and this meeting, will better understand the country and the people of Vietnam. We are compassionate, peace-loving, sympathetic, and sharing. We’ve overcome a lot of difficulties to build a better life.

Did the meeting make you change in any way?I now have more new friends in the same situation, so we can share, exchange and support each other, to learn more about the war and together build a peaceful life for today and the future.

What would your parents think about you meeting and interacting with the US. sons and daughters?Before the meeting, I burnt incense at the altar for my parents. I do this regularly because I have to communicate, to talk with my parents. I told them what I was doing and I felt that they agreed and were pleased that I was to participate in the meeting. My parents were soldiers fighting bravely with the enemy on the battlefield for patriotism and desiring a peaceful country. More than that, my parents were Vietnamese with traditional kindness and hospitality. If they had been alive, they would have been willing to meet, welcome and tell the children of American soldiers more information about the war. They would have said that they fought only to protect the country that belongs to the Vietnamese people.